OPT Insurance Plans For International Students
For many international students, their first brush with the U.S. healthcare system comes in the form of Opt insurance. In the United States, an international student is allowed a particular period of time, usually 12 months, to hone the skills learned in college. Insurance for the student on F-1 visa during this period is called OPT insurance.
Optional practical training insurance for international students is designed as a short-term health insurance to help F-1 visa holders and their dependents tide over the optional practical training period with medical coverage for sudden and unexpected ailments and accidents.
As an international student, you might have been covered under the school-sponsored plan thus far. However, remember that plans that schools offer for a student under OPT are usually more expensive than your regular student insurance plans. Optional practical training insurance offers you coverage for this period, which is usually a year.
Although it is not required by law, OPT insurance is a wise decision for those international students who want to ensure that their life, savings, and credit history remain in good condition. The high costs of U.S. healthcare make OPT health insurance mandatory by logic.
Some of the typical benefits offered by OPT insurance include inpatient and outpatient care, emergency medical assistance, ambulance services, dental expenses (excluding routine care), emergency medical evacuation, accidental death and dismemberment, as well as repatriation of remains. Most plans also cover prescription drugs for new ailments.
Your OPT insurance will, however, not cover known or planned medical conditions such as pregnancy, periodic eye and dental care, and pre-existing conditions. The look-back period for pre-existing conditions can be just a year.
Benefits of OPT health insurance plans range from coverage of $25,000 to $1 million, and a range of deductibles are available, depending on by the plan. Most OPT insurance plans can be purchased for durations from five days to a year.
When making choices regarding OPT insurance, you might want to consider your future plan after completion of your OPT. You can purchase monthly coverage, which may make sense if you are planning to look for permanent employment in the United States. You can also purchase coverage for a year, if you are certain to return to your home country after the OPT.
Dan Miller often writes about international student insurance.